Anon Vitn 16VII/7 — lín ‘the linen’
‘Veiztu, að váttar æztir
vóru hjá, þá er fóru
festarorð, en firðiz
flokkr kaupmála okkarn.
Riett hygg eg, að þá þætti
því ráðið vel báðum’;
línvang kvað hann leingi
ljúga hvert orð drjúgum.
‘Veiztu, að æztir váttar vóru hjá, þá er festarorð fóru, en flokkr firðiz kaupmála okkarn. Hygg eg riett, að þá þætti báðum því vel ráðið’; leingi kvað hann línvang ljúga drjúgum hvert orð.
‘You know that the highest witnesses were present when the words of betrothal were uttered, but the crowd stayed away from our agreement. I rightly believe that it then seemed to us both that it had been well decided in this matter’; for a long time he said that the linen-field [WOMAN] lied excessively with each word.
readings
[7] línvang: línbanda 713, 721
notes
[7] línvang ‘linen-field [WOMAN]’: This emendation is conjectural. For a similar kenning see silkigrund ‘silk-land [WOMAN]’ in 23/6 below. The ms. reading línbanda (n. gen. pl.) ‘of the linen-bands’ could function as a determinant in a kenning for ‘woman’, but there is no base-word, and the internal rhyme (-and- : -eing-) is defective. Kahle emends to línband ‘linen-band’ (i.e. ‘woman’; so also Wrightson), which still leaves the defective internal rhyme. Skald B changes linbanda to línbands ‘of the linen-band’ and leingi ‘for a long time’ to lindi ‘linden tree’ and construes the kenning lindi línbands ‘the linden tree of the linen-band [WOMAN]’. Sperber gives lindi línbanda ‘the linden tree of linen-bands’. Skald emends línbanda ‘of the linen-bands’ to Lín hrings ‘Lín <goddess> of the ring [WOMAN]’. That interpretation is unsatisfactory because it requires loss of initial h- in the name of the goddess Hlín (a Norwegianism).
kennings
- línvang — the linen-field [WOMAN]